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Tsalal Extinction
OK, an idea I've just had that may or may not be accepted, depending on how you feel. If accepted, I plan to tie this into the Captain Cook/extinct natives scenario. Warning, may be a tad graphic. At the Pole itself, situated as it is on a small plateau overlooking a lake on the Transpolar Channel, there is a ceremonial temple complex. Rarely for Antarctica, this is always inhabited, even in the depths of night, for this is the resting place of the High Shaman of the Sun, who alone knows the mystic words that shall cause the sun to rise again from the eternal night. The complex is laid out as follows. At the base of the Plateau, a high wall runs forming a windbreak. Inside this wall, there are a series of stone built structures. The House of the Shaman is a large rectangular building, with a great hall forming the majority of the structure, and a private bedroom (complete with hearth) at one end. The hall is entered from the centre of the long outer face, which faces the wall, and also from a door at the opposite end to the bedroom. This door leads to a walled passage which links the House of the Shaman, to the House of the Novices. Here, the assistants of the Priest teach novices the ancient rituals of Antarctica, and it is here that the tribal Shamans will be sent to learn the lore of the land. The structure is complex, with a mixture of halls and dormitorys arranged in a haphazard fashion around a rough quadrangle. Apart from a few smaller structures holding granaries, storerooms and workshops, the only other structure is a rectangular building of half the size of the House of the Shaman, built on the opposite side of the site. This is the House of the Sacrafices, where the twelve men who are to be given to the gods at the next ceremony are kept, fed and looked after. On top of the plateau is the temple itself, consisting of a ring of 12 stones each about 10ft high, surrounding a central hearth 12 feet wide in a circle that is 40ft across. Around this is an outer ring formed by a ring of stones about 5ft high and 80ft across. The plateau extends for a further 20ft. Around the complex are a series of less well built, but larger, stone and wood built buildings which provide accommodation at the times of ceremony. The Times of Ceremony occur four times a year, at Polar Dawn, Noon, Dusk and Midnight. It is believed that the Dawn ceremony is the oldest, but as time passed the others were added in part to satisfy the bloodlust of the people. At these times, people will travel from across the continent to be present at the Ceremony. There are 12 Sacrafices at each ceremony. At the preordained time, usually the day before the actual polar event, the crowds gather in the outer circle and on the plateau, with the assistants of the Shaman, and the tribal Shamans in the inner circle. Next the Sacrafices are led into the inner circle, naked and painted with red ochre, and each one is bound to one of the twelve stones so as to be completely off the ground. When this is done, a fire is lit in the hearth, and the sacred drum sounded. The High Shaman now ascends to the temple from the House of the Shaman, while behind him are the bearers of the knife, the twelve bearers of the bowls (usually the next twelve sacrafices) and the two bearers of the split. The bowls and split are made of wood, while the knife is of flint. The supports of the split are placed into their vacant postholes, while the twelve bowl bearers stand by their respective sacrafices. The Ceremony is begun. The High Shaman burns sacred plants to produce a thick blue smoke, and invokes the presence of the Sun Spirit with chants and drums. Then, he moves to the first sacrafice. Taking the proffered knife, he speaks further chants and begins to dance around the stone, delicately pressing the knife to the three strongholds of the life force: head, chest and groin, and delicately rubbing it against the sacrafices shaved face, chest and genitalia, with the purpose to fully arouse the life spirit of the sacrafice for maximum effectiveness. Then, at a loud drumbeat, the sacrafice is castrated and gelded, with the genitalia and blood being caught by the bowl bearer. Then, the chest is cut open, the heart pulled out while still beating and placed in the bowl. The final stroke is a cut around the cranium to expose the brain, which is removed and placed into the bowl. The now lifeless body is left in place, while the other internal organs are removed and placed into the bowl. The process is repeated with the remaining sacrafices. When all are dead, the bowls containing the various items are placed on stones around the fire to cook, while one by one the bodies are roasted on the sacred spit over the hearth. The meat is cut up, and shared among the Shamans, tribal chiefs and bowl bearers, thus launching a celebration that will last until several sleep cycles (a day being meaningless) after the astronomical event. During the rest of the year, offerings of food will be made to the High Shaman, and regularly a tribe will give one of its own to be one of the sacrafices, which is considered a great honour on the family. In this way, a sense of cultural Affinity was generated by all the tribes of Antarctica.